New fit and Leads (Double sized chapter)

He made his way down the stone brick street and found himself lost within the maze that was the stone district.

More people were about than before, but there was still an emptiness that permeated the streets that weren't found in the outer district.

'I wonder why so few people enter this place...' Drew thought as he entered deeper into the city.

After more travel he found himself finding more and more people filling the streets. It was as if the outskirts were almost completely deserted while the further you went in, the more populated it got.

The people here wore tailored cloth and some even wore fine silks. They didn't seem to lack wealth but they still acted more reserved than he expected rich people to act as he had heard from Gill.

Most of them were chatting and catching up with each other, others were walking about with clear direction, and the final group of people seemed to be wandering around from shop to shop, looking at the goods and buying what suited them.

The shops that lined the road were fairly far apart and Drew hadn't even realized that they were shops up to this point, but after learning this he started paying attention to the small signs that hung above the buildings with interest.

'Mavick's Golden Thread,' A sign read in simple yet stylish handwriting.

'Some sort of Tailor store?' Drew thought as he looked down at his lackluster clothes and frowned.

'Perhaps a change of clothes could be useful, these have been itching since the first day I got here,' He thought as just thinking about the clothes made reminded him of the coarseness that constantly scratched his body every day.

He saw that quite a few rich folks were entering and exiting this shop with happy looks on their faces.

After thinking for a moment he decided it could be useful, and slowly pulled down his hood and entered.

The floors of the store were a dark wood that was polished and had little to no scratches or scrapes on them. Not much decorated the store floor except some chairs with a small raised wooden step stool that was placed a few feet behind them, a few examples of his designs, and a small counter where transactions were made.

The people in the shop looked at the designs that were on the small dummies that lined the wall and chatted animately about the style of the fancy clothes.

Most of the clothes were made out of a mix of silk and cotton, they ranged from full formal attire to everyday wear. Some were flamboyant and others were simple and unassuming, though the more bright and over-the-top clothes were what drew most people's attention.

A few people sat in the chairs and were being measured by a few apprentices who looked hurried and almost frantic.

One man stood upon the small step stool behind his chair and was being inspected by a man that was stunning.

The tailor wore a long and comfortable suit that was forest green in color. It had black accents and had a hint of gold within some of the thread work of the inner shirt of the jacket he wore. His face was slightly pale but not enough to cause a disruption within his look. He had slightly elongated ears that were far too short to be an elf's but still had a slight elven feel to them.

The man getting his suit adjusted looked slightly nervous as the Elf-like man waved a needle at an incredible pace. Thread flew through the air as the man's clothing took shape into something much more.

At times the thread in the tailor's hand seemed to fly out from his grasp and work on its own, as winds surrounded it and guided it to its mark.

'Tailoring with magic... how intriguing,' Drew thought as he became mesmerized by the fast-paced intricate work that the man was doing in a matter of minutes.

After the tailor was done he examined the man from either side, the fine clothing from before had become styled and rich. The pale man made some adjustments to the man's outfit before nodding in satisfaction.

"I believe that is what you were looking for?" The tailor said in a silky voice that held a tone of arrogance to it, which was fair considering his obvious expertise at what he was doing.

"Um-Y-Yeah! It looks wonderful! You really are a master of your craft like all the others say," The rich man said as he stared into a near bye mirror in fascination.

The tailor then looked at the younger fellows doing measurements of the waiting customers and clicked his tongue lightly.

"You all truly should have been done by now, it looks as if my apprentices aren't as talented as I had thought..."

"I think you all should go back to the basics after your shift and refine some basic cloth into workable material, One hour each should do for your lack-luster work,"

The apprentice's face turned from frantic to dreadful at a moment's notice as the tailor looked at them chidingly.

The man then looked around for anyone who looked like a customer but instead of his eyes landing on one of many rich people within his store they instead found their way to Drew, who wore clothes that would put his craft to shame.

"Young Man! What do you think you are doing here?!" The tailor said as he marched forwards in anger.

"I'm here as a customer!" Drew said as he raised his hands innocently in surprise.

The man faltered for a moment, his angry face not diminishing whatsoever, and darted his eyes at Drew's appearance.

"Hmm... You have fair skin for the most part... Much smoother than a typical commoner. If you can prove to me that you have the coin for my wares then I shall believe your farce," He said smugly.

'Man this guy is annoying,' Drew thought with a grimace as he grabbed the coin pouch that held the 20 silver he gained from Gill as compensation.

He poured them out onto his palm and gestured towards the tailor who still looked angry.

"Twenty Silver Coins? Do you believe that is what my work costs?! If so then you are more insolent than I had thought,"

Drew sighed internally at his minor fuck up.

'I hadn't seen anyone pay yet, so how am I supposed to know what 'your work' costs?!'

Right before the man was about to act Drew put his silver back into his bag and held a hand out to motion him to wait, before grabbing another pouch hidden within his jacket and opening it up and showing the man, trying to not let the curious bystanders see his wealth.

The man rolled his eyes in annoyance before looking inside the new pouch. His eyes widened with a bit of surprise and he stared at Drew more intensely than before.

"Hmm... How did you come across this?" The pale man asked suspiciously.

"Ugh... I earned it. Fair and square,"

After a moment of silence, the man relented and relaxed his tense stance.

He motioned for Drew to follow him as he moved behind the counter and placed a few sheets of fine paper upon it, removing ink and a quill from under it while doing so.

"What work do you require of me? Hopefully, nothing too 'Grand' with such a small amount of coin..." The man said arrogantly.

'This guy is a serious prick,'

"I want some comfortable clothes. Something I might be able to fit armor under and that won't hinder my movement. I don't want it to be flashy, black and grey will do," Drew said while hesitating if he wanted to still do business with this douchebag tailor.

The tailor nodded in thought for a moment before writing down notes on possible designs.

"Steel Blue would be a good choice instead of grey, considering your eyes and complexion," He said quietly while making light adjustments to the papers.

"Unassuming look yet comfortable... Yet able to fit armor underneath it," He said in deep thought.

He suddenly broke his focus from the paper and spoke to Drew.

"What type of armor? Anything iron or steel can't function with clothing,"

"Only Leather armor and Mythril will do. Maybe some other rare materials but I doubt you have an armor of that caliber,"

Drew nodded, as it was true, he didn't even know what Mythril was, let alone anything rarer.

"Light Leather," He said simply.

"That will work then,"

The Tailor made some more light adjustments to his notes before speaking once more.

"Any runework you want to be done to it?"

'Runework... That should be what the system meant when it talked about the magic items that didn't have an aura on them,'

"What effects are available?" He asked curiously. It was useful information, especially if he had an interest in experimenting with the field in the far future.

"I don't have many that I am capable of except for the simple ones, runework is a difficult field and despite my expertise in the art of the cloth I still don't quite have the knack for runes,"

"The ones I can do are simple but useful,"

"Cleansing is a runework that will clean the clothes slowly, though the speed can be increased greatly if you channel a little bit of mana into it. It also makes the clothes less susceptible to stains and the sort,"

"Mending is a runework that will repair the clothes over time. As long as the bulk of the clothes is still intact the rune should function just fine, therefore it is quite useful for people whose lives are a little bit... 'action-filled'," He said with a knowing look.

Drew nodded with appreciated and motioned the man to continue.

"I only have two more. One of them being an incredibly simple rune while the other being my most advanced,"

"Pigment Adaptation is a minor trick that most tailors of my caliber pick up along the way. It lets you change the color of the clothes with just a little bit of mana stimulation... though I don't think that this rune would be very useful to you,"

"The most advanced runework I have that I am capable of is the advanced rune known as 'Absorption'. It's incredibly tricky to get right but its effects are useful for almost anyone,"

"Instead of the clothes absorbing the magic in the air, it instead funnels it into the wearer and slowly helps regenerate their mana. An additional effect of the rune is that it gives the wearer a minor resistance to physical-based magical effects as they will absorb some of the mana in them and give it back to you which increases the magical regeneration given from it by quite a bit,"

Drew let out a low whistle in acknowledgment of the rune's power.

"That sounds like any magic user's dream," He said gently.

"It is indeed. It's useful for even the lowest dabblers of mages as it helps you cast magic more frequently, making it more available to you, while more powerful mages find it allows them to practice more and, in turn, increase their strength," The man said proudly.

The man waited for a response from Drew and was much more patient and amiable than before, seeing as Drew was very appreciative of his work and wasn't someone who just wanted to show off.

"Could you transfer a rune from one item to another?" Drew thought, deep in thought.

The tailor thought for a moment before nodding hesitantly.

"It can be done... depending on the power and complexity of the runework,"

"The Jacket I wear, despite its crude looks, has a rune that is very useful to me. It would be incredible if you could transfer it onto my new clothing," Drew thought, the stealth capabilities clear in his mind.

'There is no way in hell that I am going to let go of the stealth bonus this thing gives me,"

The Tailor smiled lightly at Drew's words.

"May I take a look at your jacket to determine the rune and whether or not I am capable of it?"

"Of course," Drew said and gently took off and passed the hunter's jacket to the man.

'No one is looking at me anymore... It seems like they lost interest after this man calmed down,' Drew thought while looking around and examining the room.

The man spent a few minutes examining the jacket with interest that slowly turned to excitement.

"What a lovely rune!"

"It is quite an interesting trick and doesn't seem too complicated,"

"It takes advantage of the shadows and magic in its surroundings to help hide the user from other's eyes,"

"It's not perfect but..." He trailed off as he examined the item over and over again, rubbing the item to get a feel for its make.

Silence filled the air while Drew waited for the man to stop 'fondling' his beloved jacket.

The man seemed to break out of his trance and nodded for a moment at Drew.

"I have a proposition,"

Drew cocked an eye at the man's completely changed attitude but nodded anyway.

"This rune would be very useful for me and could interest many new clients,"

"I am a very fair man and I know not to swindle a person like many others would in my position,"

"I am willing to trade for this rune,"

"It should only take me until the end of today to finish examining it and copying it for my own uses and as long as it is within my capabilities and within reason, I shall give you what you wish for,"

Drew felt shocked at the man's statement and realized a random item in a shack in the middle of an abandoned farm was a treasure to the man in front of him, though he had found it out of sheer luck.

"The set of clothes you have asked for will be free of charge, no matter your request,"

"I must still charge you for any runes that you want, other than this rune of course unless you decide to use your request for that,"

'What should I ask for?'

'Hmm...'

Drew looked at the man in front of him and silently appraised him, then asked a far-fetched request.

'Couldn't hurt to ask,'

"I only request that you help me find a certain individual, if at all possible,"

"Perhaps two if you are willing,"

The man's eyes lit up and he nodded without question.

"My clients... talk of many things within the walls of my shop," He said coyly as he pain attention to Drew's next words.

"I wish to know where a man named 'Sebastian Greennose' is located,"

"I have heard he is quite famous in his craft and I have business to do with him,"

A look of disgust filled the man's eyes as he seemed to be reminded of some unpleasant memories.

"I know of this man. He is very despicable but talented in what he does. He has caused me and my friends quite a bit of distress over the past few months,"

"What do you know of him? Do you have any clue of his location?" Drew said with excitement.

"Any 'real' merchant of Nickten would know where that dreadful man is and what he does,"

"People call him the 'Miracle Worker'. He goes about the city and... Dark Street, if you know of it, and sells a potion known as 'Dolored',"

"It is a highly addictive substance that makes anyone who drinks it immune to any sort of pain for a while,"

"He has caused addiction for the substance and a reliance on him for almost all who try it,"

"And because of this... most of his clients have stopped purchasing anything else,"

"They spend all the money they have on this drug and it has caused many people to lose a lot of business,"

"We can't report him because every time we do, the person who receives the request suddenly becomes one of his addicts!"

Drew felt disgusted fill his mind and body as he wanted to recoil back from hearing what this awful man had and is doing.

'Dark Street is probably the name of the night market... and to think I was there just earlier today,'

"What 'Business' do you need such an individual for?" the man said suddenly.

"I... he..." Drew stumbled over his words.

"It's personal," He sighed.

"But I assure you that nothing good will come to Sebastian,"

The man scoured Drew's face for any sign of deceit but after a while nodded.

"His usual spot is in a random stall in Black Street that changes every few days,"

"He gets his buyers hooked by sending discreet messages to them along with a few samples of Dolored,"

"Then they come running,"

"Other than Black Street, he usually hangs around alleys to make bigger deals, bribing the guards so as to not interfere with his business,"

'Should be easy to find him if that's the case,'

'He seems comfortable... almost as if he thinks that nothing can touch him,'

"Thank you for the information,"

"It has made my life a whole lot easier than it was just a few moments before,"

The man remained still-faced but nodded.

"It is not an issue. Just don't go and do anything stupid. You seem like an intelligent individual and a promising client,"

"Thank you for your praise,"

"And that other individual you were wanting to locate?" The man said, moving away from the subject of the bane of his existence.

"Ah... yes," Drew said quietly.

'I doubt he will be able to help me with this one,'

"I'm looking for a person... No, individual I should say. The only thing I know of her is her name,"

"It may be a little difficult but if she is important in Nickten it shouldn't be an issue," The man said while motioning for Drew to continue.

"Her name is Jazzy. She operated a shop of some sorts in the outer district and had magical items that proved how good she was at her craft,"

The man froze in place and a look of fascination appeared on his face.

"You know of the Nightwalker?!"